A paper on early Social Security co-authored by Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics, was referenced in the Fiscal Times article "The Unintended Consequence of Letting Workers Take Social Security at Age 62." Engelhardt and co-authors Jonathan Gruber and Anil Kumar found that the introduction of the early retirement option lowered the average age of those claiming Social Security by about a year and a half and lowered Social Security income by an average of 1.5 percent for male-headed retired households. 05/31/18